Port Charlotte Man Sentenced to Life in Sexual Exploitation Case

Port Charlotte Man Sentenced to Life in Sexual Exploitation Case

FORT MYERS, FL—Senior United States District Judge John E. Steele has sentenced Quinton Paul Handlon (44, Port Charlotte) to life in federal prison for producing and possessing child pornography and for coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. Handlon was found guilty by a jury on October 9, 2014.

According to evidence presented at trial, Handlon sexually abused his niece over an approximately four-year period, while she was between the ages of 11 and 15. He provided his niece with money and other items in exchange for sexual activity. Handlon took sexually explicit photographs of the child, filmed her engaged in sexual activity with him, and coerced her to take photographs and videos of herself for his sexual gratification. A search warrant executed at Handlon’s residence recovered the electronic devices containing the victim’s images and videos.

This case was investigated by the Charlotte County Sherriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation Unit. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tama Koss Caldarone and Stacie B. Harris.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.